


The Search for the Spider

by DianaSolaris



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Body Horror, F/F, F/M, Interactive Fiction, Light BDSM, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 15:30:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15246357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianaSolaris/pseuds/DianaSolaris
Summary: Your name is Terezi Pyrope.Of course, we all knew this already. You haven't been paying attention if you don't know your own name by now. It's everything else that feels wrong and twisted.You aren't sure if this is because you're a Seer of Mind, because the universe is breaking, or some mix of both. Given the opportunity, you'd vote for both, or the third option, that the distinct lack of smells out at the edge of the shattering void is giving you a KILLER migraine.Also, you still haven't found Vriska.Interactive Twine game for raininshadows!





	1. Route 1: Saving Eridan, Meeting Aradia and Otherwise Making Bad Choices

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raininshadows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raininshadows/gifts).



> Hey! So this is a version of an interactive Twine game; the full game can be found for download and play-through on my Dreamwidth page, moonlitwaterwriting!
> 
> Below is several of the game's routes, in easier-to-read format. However, for the full experience please check out the game :)
> 
> Also, this game has body horror, nightmare fuel, (fairly vague) sex scenes and character death. Be warned!

Your name is Terezi Pyrope.

Of course, we all knew this already. You haven't been paying attention if you don't know your own name by now. It's everything else that feels wrong and twisted.

You aren't sure if this is because you're a Seer of Mind, because the universe is breaking, or some mix of both. Given the opportunity, you'd vote for both, or the third option, that the distinct lack of smells out at the edge of the shattering void is giving you a KILLER migraine.

You steer away from the cracks for a little while. You need a break.

Except...

Except somebody is calling out your name.

**Investigate.- >**

You can smell them, and you wrinkle up your nose. Another dream bubble, headed in the wrong direction to Lasertown.

But none of them are Vriska.

 _Are you this selfish now?_ asks a voice in the back of your head. Maybe. You don't know. It's not that you're TRYING to be selfish.

It's just that, well, you're not particularly keen to see Eridan again. Little bastard. Why is it you live in a world where even the dead sons of bitches don't stay dead?

You say as you're searching for another dead asshole who keeps not staying dead.

Maybe you're biased.

Sigh.

**Go save him, you prick! _- >_**

Saving Eridan is easy. You just have to jetpack towards the smell of utter betrayal despite every bone in your body urging you to do otherwise -

cA: thats not vvery nice.  
gC: OH D1D 1 S4Y TH4T 0UT L0UD? WH00PS.  
cA: i'll havve you knoww i'm not even from your timeline  
gC: TH3N WHY 4R3 Y0U B1S3CT3D  
cA: ...  
cA: fashion statement.  
cA: can you hurry it up? i think my bum's getting scorched.

You do, eventually, pull him out of the way, and there's a crunching, zapping noise as his dream bubble falls into the crack. He makes a really, really pathetic noise.

gC: 0H, Y0U'LL F1ND 4NOTH3R 0N3.  
cA: but i might have to share. also, all my artbooks were there.  
gC: 1T'S 4 DR34M BUBBL3! DR34M UP M0R3 YOU L4ZY 4SS.  
cA: spoken like somebody who's never had a nightmare in her life!  
gC: ...y3p u h4v3nt ch4ng3d.

You get ready to leave.

**Wait. - >**

cA: wait...

You don't owe him anything. You *don't*.

But with a sigh, you let him take your hand and feel the nervousness in his shaking fingers.

gC: YOU KNOW 1'M LOOK1NG FOR VR1SK4.  
cA: don't wworry i'll leavve long before that. she's a bitch  
gC: NOT W1NN1NG M3 OV3R H3R3  
cA: i thought you killed her?  
cA: i guess it's complicated  
cA: i guess evverythins complicated

You hold back the sigh. You've had about enough of his moping.

gC: WH4T DO YOU 3V3N W4NT M4N  
cA: idk. some company i guess? and  
cA: i wanted to ask if kk is okay.  
gC: ...I THOUGHT YOU D1DNT C4R3.  
cA: yeah you all thought a lot of things didnt you  
gC: GOD. Y34H. SORRY W3 TOOK YOU 4T F4C3 V4LU3 ON TH3 G3NOC1D3.  
cA: vvris has killed more people than me.

You want nothing more to chop his hand off at this point. But you're being good. You're doing a good thing.

gC: can wwe go back? i think my legs fell off again.

If he isn't careful, *your* kill count is going to go up.

**ERIDAN: REMEMBER - >**

You are now Eridan (or were, or have been, or one day might be again)

Vriska is touching you, pulling out every nerve you have with fingers rough like stone.

"Does that hurt," she whispers, and you can't speak, you can't speak, you can't speak.

"Does that hurt?" she asks again, and she won't stop until you answer.

You like it. You like her, more than you should. And this isn't how it's supposed to work. You aren't supposed to be submitting to a land-dweller who seems to be taking just as much pleasure out of the act of hurting you as she is out of grinding against you.

So you hurt her back. You pull her hair, you dig your fingers into her skin, and she laughs, and she moans, and you hate it, you hate her, so deep into black that it physically hurts every time that you pull away from her.

You tell yourself, later, that you were just imagining she was Fef.

You're not a good liar.

**-stop it. - >**

Stop.

Please.

**Keep going. - >**

The Furthest Ring gets darker and darker as the two of you fly on, and the cracks through the skin of the universe shine with an unearthly light whenever you come across them.

cA: so did  
cA: did vvris ever talk about me  
gC: M4N YOU GOTT4 L3T TH1S GO. 1 THOUGHT YOU H4T3D H3R.  
cA: i thought you did too. lets not split hairs. besides, there's hate and then there's real, true blackrom yanno  
gC: Y34H 4ND IF SH3 H4D TH4T W1TH 4NYBODY 1T W4S M3  
gC: OR POSS1BLY 4R4DI4 BUT 1M PR3TTY SURE TH4T W4S JUST  
gC: NORM4L 'K1LL YOU' H4TE.  
cA: well excuuse me for havving a hard time telling the difference sometimes  
cA: once vvris threatened to kill me while, you know, in the process of-  
gC: YOU 4R3 FR1GHT3N1NG TO L1ST3N TO!  
gC: PLZ STOP T4LK1NG  
gC: JUST, L1KE, 4EVER.  
cA: it was hot is all im sayin  
cA: i make no apologies for my preferences  
gC: ON3 MOM3NT YOURE C4LLIN H3R A B1TCH NOW YOUR3 T3LL1NG M3 SH3 SL3PT W1TH YOU  
gC: WH4T DRUGS 4R3 YOU ON  
cA: love is wweird man  
cA: or abuse. but again  
cA: sue me for havvin a hard time

He's not wrong. You still hate his bisected, exposed, chainsawed guts, but he's not wrong.

There are three dreambubbles ahead of you. One smells a bit like a drenched cat in a rainstorm; another smells of alcohol, another of rotting bodies and dust.

Well, you gotta pick one, especially if you want to foist this idiot off on somebody.  
  
 **Rotting bodies sounds like the fun kind of trouble**. - >

You and Eridan fly towards the dreambubble that smells a little like an exhumed grave.

cA: i knoww i'm all about death and shit  
cA: but that looks like a nightmare about to happen  
gC: YOU'R3 A N1GHTM4R3 TH4TS 4LR34DY H4PP3N3D  
gC: BY WH1CH 1 M3AN  
gC: SHUT UP U DONT G3T AN OP1N1ON  
cA: nahh i mean if youre looking for vvris  
cA: followwing a trail of decay seems like a great wway to do it  
gC: C4N U H34R YOURS3LF  
gC: L1KE, WH3N YOU T4LK  
cA: i havent had any loved ones destroy my senses so yes

Okay. You've officially had enough of him. You grab him by the horns, spin around and then release him. You have no idea which way he went, until -

Thump.

Ah. You threw him into the dreambubble.

A message comes through on your communicator.

aA: are y0u g0ing t0 pick that up

Shit.

 

**Talk to Aradia - >**

gC: H3Y  
gC: SORRY 4BOUT TH3 FLYING MORON

You descend into the dreambubble, and are greeted with the smell of rotting corpses getting stronger.

aA: he didnt disturb anything imp0rtant  
aA: and besides, ive been l00king for another test subject  
aA: h0w are y0u  
gC: 1M F1N3 I GU3SS  
gC: WOND3R1NG WHY YOU'R3 COLL3CT1NG D3AD P3OPL3  
aA: ah, y0u can smell my c0llection  
aA: s0me gh0sts are unf0rtunate en0ugh to leave b0dies behind  
aA: i want t0 0pen a museum for all the gh0sts wh0 died in the war against l0rd english  
aA: m0stly because gh0st b0dies are an inherent c0ntradicti0n and sh0uldn't exist  
aA: amp0ra will make an excellent exhibit.

Man. It feels like everybody you want to meet wants to do terrible things to Eridan.

cA: does that mean youll be checking out your specimen?

Never mind. He deserves it.

**Ask if she's seen Vriska.**

Aradia hesitates at that.

aA: that depends  
aA: did y0u need her f0r s0mething.  
gC: FUCK1NG. R34LLY? 3V3RY T1M3 1 TURN 4ROUND SOM3BODYS K1LL1NG HER  
aA: technically i never g0t t0  
aA: that was an0ther timeline's me  
aA: ribbit  
aA: als0  
aA: she isnt dead

Man. That's even more concerning.

gC: SO WH3R3 IS SH3???

You follow Aradia's slightly-sticky footsteps into another room, and the smell of rot is overcome with the stink of formaldehyde.

gC: OK4Y, WHY DO I SM3LL TH-

Then you take a few more steps forward, lift your hand to Vriska's face, and realize what's happened.

**Vriska: I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream- >**

You are - briefly - Vriska. Being Vriska isn't very much fun right now. You're trapped in position, unable to move.

Aradia had sounded so sweet, so forgiving, when she said that they could be friends again. And then, for a while, it had been more than friends. Aradia's hands had torn at her, given her the sensation she craved, and Vriska had fought back, leaving little clawmarks on Ara's back, their violence turned to better uses -

-Until, one day, it had stopped being a game. Aradia's webbed hands had latched so tightly onto Vriska's throat that only the reminder that she was in fact a ghost kept her from panicking. She couldn't die again. But Aradia had kept choking her, thighs moving between hers, and then the needle had pierced her skin, flooded her with something cold and poisonous.

You can see Terezi fondling your face, and you want to reassure her that you're not the only Vriska, that you're fairly certain you're one from a doomed timeline. But the metal wire laced through your jaws stops you from saying a thing, and you know that you're nothing more than a museum exhibit now, preserved in formaldehyde for Aradia to touch and hurt and display however she wants.

It is, to be fair, some rather excellent revenge.

**Terezi: Choices - >**

 

gC: ...4R4DI4 TH1S 1S FUCK3D 3V3N FOR YOU.  
aA: p0tentially but  
aA: its s0 much easier t0 keep an eye 0n her this way!

...Well, Aradia has a bit of a point.

You've completed your journey, sort of, but your Vriska is probably still out there. You can tell that this Vriska's from a different timeline, albeit not largely different.

So you could go home, or you could keep searching. And there's still two other dreambubbles to choose from.

**Eridan: Bad Decisions Were Made - >**

You aren't sure why you're okay with Aradia turning you into a museum exhibit, but in your defense, she's hot.

cG: so do i get to help wwrite my display board or  
aA: h0ld still.

She grabs your hair, pushes the needle into you, and maybe it's just because you've gotten so tremendously fucked up over the last while, but it's kind of hot, the way she's holding you down. You shift, hoping she doesn't notice that you're getting off on it, but you also kind of hope she does.

She never touches you, at least, not where you want to be touched. But she does sit you so you're facing Vriska, even as she presses the scalpel to your chest and starts to pull you open.

Eternity with a hot chick hurting you, and Vriska to look at.

Bad decisions, maybe, but certainly fun.

**THE END.**


	2. Route Two: Saving Eridan, Meeting Rose and Nepeta, Happy Ending Route

Your name is Terezi Pyrope.

Of course, we all knew this already. You haven't been paying attention if you don't know your own name by now. It's everything else that feels wrong and twisted.

You aren't sure if this is because you're a Seer of Mind, because the universe is breaking, or some mix of both. Given the opportunity, you'd vote for both, or the third option, that the distinct lack of smells out at the edge of the shattering void is giving you a KILLER migraine.

You steer away from the cracks for a little while. You need a break.

Except...

Except somebody is calling out your name.

**Investigate. - >**

You can smell them, and you wrinkle up your nose. Another dream bubble, headed in the wrong direction to Lasertown.

But none of them are Vriska.

 _Are you this selfish now?_ asks a voice in the back of your head. Maybe. You don't know. It's not that you're TRYING to be selfish.

It's just that, well, you're not particularly keen to see Eridan again. Little bastard. Why is it you live in a world where even the dead sons of bitches don't stay dead?

You say as you're searching for another dead asshole who keeps not staying dead.

Maybe you're biased.

Sigh.

**Go save him, you prick! - >**

cA: wait...

You don't owe him anything. You *don't*.

But with a sigh, you let him take your hand and feel the nervousness in his shaking fingers.

gC: YOU KNOW 1'M LOOK1NG FOR VR1SK4.  
cA: don't wworry i'll leavve long before that. she's a bitch  
gC: NOT W1NN1NG M3 OV3R H3R3  
cA: i thought you killed her?  
cA: i guess it's complicated  
cA: i guess evverythins complicated

You hold back the sigh. You've had about enough of his moping.

gC: WH4T DO YOU 3V3N W4NT M4N  
cA: idk. some company i guess? and  
cA: i wanted to ask if kk is okay.  
gC: ...I THOUGHT YOU D1DNT C4R3.  
cA: yeah you all thought a lot of things didnt you  
gC: GOD. Y34H. SORRY W3 TOOK YOU 4T F4C3 V4LU3 ON TH3 G3NOC1D3.  
cA: vvris has killed more people than me.

You want nothing more to chop his hand off at this point. But you're being good. You're doing a good thing.

gC: can wwe go back? i think my legs fell off again.

If he isn't careful, *your* kill count is going to go up.

**Keep going. - >**

The Furthest Ring gets darker and darker as the two of you fly on, and the cracks through the skin of the universe shine with an unearthly light whenever you come across them.

cA: so did  
cA: did vvris ever talk about me  
gC: M4N YOU GOTT4 L3T TH1S GO. 1 THOUGHT YOU H4T3D H3R.  
cA: i thought you did too. lets not split hairs. besides, there's hate and then there's real, true blackrom yanno  
gC: Y34H 4ND IF SH3 H4D TH4T W1TH 4NYBODY 1T W4S M3  
gC: OR POSS1BLY 4R4DI4 BUT 1M PR3TTY SURE TH4T W4S JUST  
gC: NORM4L 'K1LL YOU' H4TE.  
cA: well excuuse me for havving a hard time telling the difference sometimes  
cA: once vvris threatened to kill me while, you know, in the process of-  
gC: YOU 4R3 FR1GHT3N1NG TO L1ST3N TO!  
gC: PLZ STOP T4LK1NG  
gC: JUST, L1KE, 4EVER.  
cA: it was hot is all im sayin  
cA: i make no apologies for my preferences  
gC: ON3 MOM3NT YOURE C4LLIN H3R A B1TCH NOW YOUR3 T3LL1NG M3 SH3 SL3PT W1TH YOU  
gC: WH4T DRUGS 4R3 YOU ON  
cA: love is wweird man  
cA: or abuse. but again  
cA: sue me for havvin a hard time

He's not wrong. You still hate his bisected, exposed, chainsawed guts, but he's not wrong.

There are three dreambubbles ahead of you. One smells a bit like a drenched cat in a rainstorm; another smells of alcohol, another of rotting bodies and dust.

Well, you gotta pick one, especially if you want to foist this idiot off on somebody.

**Go visit the wet cat. - >**

You gird your metaphorical loins and steer towards the smell of wet cat, hoping it's who you think it is. Fur smells awful when it's wet, all musky notes and soggy, mossy rot.

You sneeze once, then twice, jerking in your rocket harness.

It's pretty hard to navigate with your senses clogged with plum-scented blood and that irritating fur scent. Eridan complains like it's a nervous habit, whining at you every time you jar him, and that's about the end of your patience for the time being.

 

**Land. - >**

Your foot skids off the unstable ground, and you do an absolutely epic faceplant. Eridan's halves fly in seperate directions.

All you can taste now is failure. And -- is that <i>sugar???</i>

You stick out your tongue to taste the ground, leaving standing up for a future you to deal with. It's sure as hell not dirt. (Thank god, honestly. You've eaten enough of that for a lifetime.)

There's a scuffling sound in the distance, packed sugar crunching under six pairs of feet. You struggle to your knees and ready your weapon.

aC: :33 < purrezi???

Nepeta squeals, and the very next second you're back on the ground under her. Oof.

**Greet your dead friend, dummy!**

This is the best dreambubble you could have found, you decide. You scrape the sugar off your tongue so you can talk.

gC: N3P3T4!!!  
gC: 1 W4S HOP1NG 1D F1ND YOU H3R3 >:D

You say, and clap your hands together. Your weapon lies discarded next to you, and the second set of feet pads off in the other direction.

aC: :33 < *purrs*  
aC: :33 < i missed you so much!!! we haven't had a visipurr in ages, you know  
aC: :cc < it got kinda boring

'We?' you wonder. All you can smell here is hunter gr33n.

In the distance, you hear an alarmed shout.

**Aw, hell. - >**

You already forgot about Eridan. You're a terrible friend.

aC: :33 < is that  
aC: :33 < mispurr ampurra?

Nepeta whistles for her lusus. There's another shout, and the sound of paws comes back your way. What you're assuming is Eridan's torso thumps onto the ground next to you, still complaining.

Sigh.

gC: 1'M SO SORRY 1N 4DV4NC3.

Eridan has the common sense to keep his mouth shut, or maybe it's just Pounce's matched set of fangs that shut him up. You don't really care, at this point.

aC: :33 < no offense, but i was looking furward to stalking with you murr befur i found him  
gC: YOU KNOW WH4T? TH4T'S F41R.  
aC: :33 < ac does not want to be too mean but she isnt really in the mood for being furrlirted with today  
aC: :33 < so she has a suggestion! *she says brightly*

Pounce lets out a purr, and you hear her settle down. Her tail whisks over the sugar.

aC: :33 < pounce can watch him fur a while and we can go catch up

**That sounds good. - >**

gC: Y34H, OK4Y  
gC: 1 N33D3D A BR34K FROM GRUBS1TT1NG 4NYW4YS

Before Eridan can even ready a complaint, Nepeta's whisked you to your feet. Somehow, you forgot how strong she was.

aC: :33 < i'd ask if you're my terezi or a diffurent one but i'm not really fur it mewtters  
aC: :33 < i'm just happy to s33 you again!  
gC: M3 TOO  
gC: YOU WOULD NOT B3L13V3 TH3 D4Y 1'V3 H4D  
gC: 1'M NOT SUR3 HOW LONG 1 C4N ST4Y BUT  
gC: 1'M R34LLY GL4D YOU'R3 DO1NG ALR1GHT.

Sincerity is kind of gross.

She claps you on the back hard enough to make you stumble, and you shove her over into a sugar pile. She giggles.

aC: :33 < *licks her paw* you're just the same as efur  
aC: :33 < well except fur bringing that hypawcrite pawlong  
aC: :33 < i wouldn't put up with him if i fur mew   
aC: :33 < but that's a pawrk of being dead  
gC: UH. WH4T  
aC: :33 < well i mean  
aC: :33 < *the huntress considers her words, and if they are too purrsonal out of nowhere. she wouldn't want to make her furriend uncomfurtable!*

You're pretty out of practice with roleplay. Uh.

gC: *th3 dr4gon 3ncour4g3s h3r fr13nd to cont1nu3*  
aC: :33 < *ac purrs thanks*  
aC: :33 < i just think that since i died with pawgrets  
aC: :33 < knowing i could have stopped equihiss from dying if i just made him listen  
aC: :33 < that it's impurrtant to stand up fur myself  
aC: :33 < mew were always purrty good at that   
aC: :33 < i thought i was strong and didn't take any shit but i still gave up at the end  
aC: :33 < pawnestly? i want to be like mew  
gC: ..th4t m34ns 4 lot n3p3t4  
gC: th4nk you

This conversation got emotional fast. Today seems to be going that way all around. You change the subject before either of you can get upset, but you think that will stay with you.

**Ask about Vriska. - >**

You pause, then ask the question on your mind.

gC: IM LOOK1NG FOR VR1SK4  
gC: H4V3 YOU S33N H3R

The change in Nepeta's demeanour is obvious, and you almost regret asking the question at all. (Almost.)

aC: :c > ohhh she scares me  
aC: :c > i thought you were going to stay with me! at least for a little while  
aC: :33 > and mr. ampurra can stay too! if he promises not to be mean  
gC: SORRY N3P, 1T'S 1MPORT4NT  
gC: YOU C4N COM3 IF YOU W4NT  
aC: :O > i could! but  
aC: :O > *thinks intensely, licking her paws*  
aC: :c > its dangerouse out th33re and i have everything i need here! and i don't want to deal with spidersona, noooo  
gC: W4IT. H4V3 YOU H4D TO D3AL W1TH H3R H3RE?  
aC: :33 > she flew through on a big big ships! i hid  
aC: :33 > pirates are fun but not my favourite  
aC: :33 > its good that she's still having fun! it's just not  _my_ fun

You thank Nepeta for the help, and pat her on the head. She does seem happy out here, if kind of lonely.

**Leave. - >**

It's time to go find Vriska. So you give Nep a kiss on her forehead, debate fishing Eridan out from under the excitable lusus, and decide he's probably better off getting sat on by a cat. Besides, Nepeta can always just bisect him again if he causes trouble.

aC: :33 < waiiiit!

You pause above the dreambubble.

aC: :33 < you're going the wrong way! that way!

Ah. You probably should have asked that.

gC: ST4Y S4FE, K1TTYC4T

Then Nep tosses Eridan at you, and you can't help but screech a little as he hits you facefirst. He's not any happier about it than you.

aC: :33 < nice try!

Dammit. You'd really hoped.

There are three dreambubbles ahead of you. You've already visited Nep's; another smells of alcohol, another of rotting bodies and dust.

**Alcohol? I'm in! - >**

The bubble isn't wreathed in alcohol fumes, more like delicately touched by them, but it's enough to make you guess who you're probably going to run into.

As it turns out, though - you're wrong.

tT: ...terezi??  
gC: 1N TH3 FL3SH  
gC: 1 COULD H4V3 SWORN I L3FT YOU B4CK ON-  
tT: Doomed timelines. These days, pretty much the solution to every strange conundrum in this universe.  
tT: I tried and failed to avenge my mother against a being far beyond my powers, even the powers I received from the horrorterrors.  
gC: OH Y34H I H34RD 4B0UT TH4T COLOSS4L M1ST4K3  
gC: YOU R34LLY SC4R3D JOHN TH3R3 YOU KNOW  
tT: I imagine so. I have a hard time picturing his face though.

You sniff the air - and there it is, underneath the smell of cheap rum and wine. The scent of something WRONG.

You're not just talking to Rose. You're talking to grimdark Rose.

**Ask about Vriska. - >**

tT: I don't have much skill with tracking dreambubbles, but there was a ship that passed by a while ago. If I know anything about Serket, it has something to do with her.  
tT: That being said, I wouldn't get my hopes up. She faced off against Lord English and won - that will take some toll on the spiritual form.  
gC: SH3 WH4T  
gC: *INCOH3R3NT SCR34M1NG*  
tT: ...I must admit I have more respect for her now than I ever did.  
tT: Nevertheless, I advise caution when approaching the ship.  
tT: I haven't the faintest clue HOW she defeated him.   
gC: YOU'R3 4SSUM1NG 4NYBODY KNOWS HOW VR1S DOES 4NYTH1NG.   
gC: MY TH3ORY IS SH33R ORN3RY SP1TE  
tT: That would make sense.  
gC: SO WH1CH W4Y 1S TH1S P1R4T3 SH1P

Rose taps your hand, then points it in the direction you need to go. You swallow nervously.

**Ask about the alcohol. - >**

gC: H3Y SO  
gC: TH3 DR1NK1NG  
gC: DO3S 1T H3LP

Rose pauses, and you can smell salt on her face, sizzling on skin she's sold to demons in exchange for power that wasn't enough.

tT: No. Not really. Why do you ask?  
gC: JUST...WONDERING.

You suppose if anybody would understand watching another version of yourself fall into a habit to escape the truth, it would be your fellow Seer, especially this one. But your relationship with Gamzee and everything else that transpired in that horrid timeline are things you can't easily share. You aren't even supposed to know. It brings you some peace that that version of you found Vriska on her own, but now it's supposed to be your turn.

You resolve never to touch anything addictive. Ever. If you've learned anything from the timelines you've managed to uncover, it's that obsession is one of your greatest flaws, and this time you'll avert it.

(What that means for you and Vriska, you don't know. But everybody has a blind spot.)

gC: ST4Y S4FE

**Look for the pirate ship. - >**

You don't really know what to expect, but you keep flying, this time sniffing for a ship cutting its way through the dark cosmos. You know what to keep a nose out for - the scent of wood, the lingering trace of saltwater - and eventually, you find it.

And you freeze.

Being moirails with Vriska has been... amazing. Watching her become a different person, a *better* person -

\- but you don't know how long Vriska can actually keep it up. Maybe that's why she left in the first place. At the end of the day, Vriska is Vriska. She's scared and when she's scared, she's angry, and when she's angry, she's mean.

How much are you willing to bet that the Vriska you'll get back is still the Vriska you want?

You pick up your communicator. Dave is offline - in fact, there's no service right where you are. Funny. You haven't had problems so far.

gC: R3M3MB3R WH3N YOU 4SK3D M3 1F 1 W4NT3D TO B3 4 B3TT3R TROLL OR 4 B3TT3R HUM4N  
gC: ...L4TUL4 TOLD M3 W3 W3R3NT 4LW4YS L1KE TH1S  
gC: 4ND TH3R3S TH1NGS 1 M1SS 4BOUT HOM3  
gC: L1KE MY LUSUS. 4ND FL4RPING  
gC: 4ND TH1NGS NOT B31NG SO CONFUSING 4LL TH3 T1M3.  
gC: SO 1 TH1NK 1M P1CK1NG OPT1ON THR33.  
gC: FORG3T TROLL SOC13TY OR HUMAN SOC13TY. WE MADE A NEW PLANET  
gC: 1M JUST GO1NG TO B3 B3TT3R.  
gC: PERIOD.

No service. All the messages show up red, undeliverable. Well, you might as well take the chance while you can.

gC: I LOV3 YOU.

**Board the ship. - >**

The ship is a ghost ship both literally and figuratively; you can still smell the traces of the souls that sailed this for their Captain, but everybody is gone.

No. Not everybody. There's the steady sound of breathing belowdecks.

You're so nervous you think you might cry. But you descend the ladder down into the belly of the ship, and -

-and there she is. You can smell the blood on her, but it's her own blood. And she's breathing.

You run over to her, and place your fingers gently on her face. She's asleep, far more deeply asleep than you've ever seen her (so to speak.) On her chest is clutched her secret weapon, the little emblem that holds so much power.

gC: H3Y  
gC: I KN3W YOU W3R3 OUT H3R3 SOM3WH3R3  
gC: 4LTHOUGH 4PPARENTLY I HAV3 TO S4V3 YOU 4G4IN.  
gc: I GU3SS TH4TS OK4Y. ID R4TH3R S4V3 YOU TH4N K1LL YOU.

You lean in, exhale, then press your lips to hers. She's not dead. She doesn't need reviving.

But maybe she just needs to know that she's getting another chance.

At first, nothing happens. Then her arms wrap around your shoulders, and she's kissing you back.

aG: rezi?  
aG: did I win?

You can't help but laugh. You're just so glad she's alive.

gC: Y34H YOU D1D  
gC: 4ND SC4R3D M3 IN THE PROCESS!  
gC: COM3 ON. L3TS GO HOM3.

She takes your hand, and you can almost feel that other you, the other-Vriska, the other-Terezi smiling.

aG: okay. that sounds good  
aG: also why is Ampora floating outside

You look up, then give Eridan a grin as he floats by the porthole, arms crossed and a very annoyed expression on his face.

cG: I CANT BELIEVVE YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME  
aG: I can!  
cG: yeah yeah it's good to see you too, bitch.

Yep. About what you expected.

You've got connection again. Maybe it has something to do with Vriska.

gC: H3Y D4V3  
gC: M1SSION MOTH3RFUCK1NG ACCOMPLISHED!

**The End.**

 

 


	3. Route Three: The HorrorTerrors

Your name is Terezi Pyrope.

Of course, we all knew this already. You haven't been paying attention if you don't know your own name by now. It's everything else that feels wrong and twisted.

You aren't sure if this is because you're a Seer of Mind, because the universe is breaking, or some mix of both. Given the opportunity, you'd vote for both, or the third option, that the distinct lack of smells out at the edge of the shattering void is giving you a KILLER migraine.

You steer away from the cracks for a little while. You need a break.

Except...

Except somebody is calling out your name.

**Investigate. - >**

Saving Eridan is easy. You just have to jetpack towards the smell of utter betrayal despite every bone in your body urging you to do otherwise -

cA: thats not vvery nice.  
gC: OH D1D 1 S4Y TH4T 0UT L0UD? WH00PS.  
cA: i'll havve you knoww i'm not even from your timeline  
gC: TH3N WHY 4R3 Y0U B1S3CT3D  
cA: ...  
cA: fashion statement.  
cA: can you hurry it up? i think my bum's getting scorched.

You do, eventually, pull him out of the way, and there's a crunching, zapping noise as his dream bubble falls into the crack. He makes a really, really pathetic noise.

gC: 0H, Y0U'LL F1ND 4NOTH3R 0N3.  
cA: but i might have to share. also, all my artbooks were there.  
gC: 1T'S 4 DR34M BUBBL3! DR34M UP M0R3 YOU L4ZY 4SS.  
cA: spoken like somebody who's never had a nightmare in her life!  
gC: ...y3p u h4v3nt ch4ng3d.

You get ready to leave.

**No. - >**

You leave Eridan drifting in the cold, the two halves of his body held together with... well, you'd make a heavy bet that it's out of pure spite. You never liked him much anyway, and while death has softened him up a bit, you aren't going to be fond of anybody who killed two of your favourite people.

The trouble is, you don't know which way to go next. The dreambubbles are thinning out in this part of the Furthest Ring, and you're starting to face up to a horrible reality; that Vriska may very well be dead.

You close your eyes and try not to cry. You've seen both timelines; you know there's no point in feeling bad. But this was a timeline where she got a *chance*. And you want that chance, you want the opportunity to see her become everything she could be. You don't want your entire friendship. your entire relationship, to boil down to meeting in the afterlife and getting a little bit more time before you fade away.

You were too busy being distracted.

"Oh don't 8e such a sad-sack!"

You hear it, turn around, see nothing but darkness. The Furthest Ring sprawls in front of you, emptier and emptier the longer you sniff -

and then, with a sudden drop of horror, you realize you haven't been paying attention.

You've gone too far into the Ring.

**RUN!**

You don't know which horrorterror you've run straight into, and you don't know if you care. Rose would know, and probably Aradia, but right now, you need to *leave.*

One by one, the dreambubbles you could smell wink out. At first you think they've been destroyed. Then you realize that - no - you've been pulled deep into the all-encroaching void of the horrorterror. Tentacles and other limbs wrap around your arms, your legs, your neck, pulling you towards what you can only imagine is a mouth.

You tear a hand free, but you know there's no hope for escape. So instead, you send a message, the last one you'll send.

gC: dave im sorry i love you please dont be mad im so

-the communicator breaks.

The horrorterror is hungry.

**THE END...or is it?**

You're falling, and falling, and you land on something that feels like grass.

There is something sitting in front of you.

"What does he look like?" the figure asks. The voice is bland, uncertain, but getting more and more sure with each second.

You take a deep breath in. You can smell red, lots and lots of red.

"Who?"

The figure taps on something. "Turntech Godhead. Or Dave, I suppose."

"You're the Horrorterror."

"On most days. Today, I'm Dave."

"Why?"

"You reached out to him when you thought you were going to die. This interests me."

"You're a horrorterror. What's so intriguing about death?"

"It's become imminent for me, after endless aeons of certainty. I simply want to understand. Why him?"

Now, all you can smell is black. You try not to panic. Black makes you panic, after Jack Noir.

"He helps me relax."

"Relax?"

But you don't know what else to say. How do you explain the simple act of *liking* somebody to a creature so devastatingly beyond your reach and understanding? All your points of reference are so small, so stupid. Half of them are from another timeline.

"He smells like red," you say finally. "And he talked to me when I was scared. Tried to stop me from making-" You remember how the timeline worked out, how that decision had doomed so many people- "a terrible decision."

The horrorterror is silent.

You decide to change the subject. "Why aren't I dead?"

"Oh, you're dead. Just not demolished, like so many of the other ghosts out there."

That makes sense, but you can't help but feel the sadness growing in you anyway. "I was hoping..."

"Of course you were. Mortals are odd like that. You'll hope even when there is no hope."

"Do you have any other questions for me?"

"Not for now."

The black smell disappears, and you're alone.

 

**THE END.**

 


End file.
